Silver Lake Advisory LLC Has $5.09 Million Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC lessened its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 24.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,582 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 7,142 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $5,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in First Solar by 11.1% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in First Solar by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after buying an additional 16,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on First Solar from $320.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $255.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $225.51 and a 200 day moving average of $216.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.